The Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) in Nigeria, through the Kano State Agro Pastoral Development Project (KSADP), has successfully provided farming inputs to farmers for the 2024 wet season in Kano State. The distribution took place from the 20th to the 22nd of June and was carried out by the Regenerative Agriculture component of the project. The targeted farmers are those hosting the project’s demonstration and Community-Based Multiplication (CBSM) plots.

According to the Project Coordinator, Abdulrasheed Kofarmata, the project aims to establish 381 demo plots and 102 CBSM plots across the 44 Local Government Areas of the state. The target crops included rice, maize, sorghum, and millet.

“The demonstration plots and CBSM plots were critical components of the Regenerative Agriculture aspects of the project,” he said. “The host farmers received all the agro-products and planting materials necessary to maintain fields that represent the sustainable practices and production technologies we were promoting. The inputs included quality seeds of improved varieties, fertilizers, and other agro-inputs.

To ensure that the inputs reached the host farmers in the required quantity and quality, Kofarmata explained that Lead Extension Agents were responsible for collecting the inputs and redistributing them to beneficiaries in their various LGAs. “Since the project began, we have hardly experienced cases of non-receipt by farmers because our distribution and monitoring systems are robust The Extension Agents, the Community-Based Facilitators, and the farmers were all partners in progress. The Community-Based Facilitators (CBFs) are trained by SAA to support farmer-to-farmer extension in the communities.

Lead EAs for Doguwa and Garun Mallam pose with wet season farm inputs after the distribution exercise.

While flagging off the distribution, the SAA Nigeria Country Director, Dr. Godwin Atser, represented by his Special Adviser, Prof. Sani Miko, urged the Lead Extension Agents to ensure that the exercise went beyond delivering the inputs to the farmers and included ensuring that they were adequately utilized in accordance with Regenerative Agriculture principles. This approach leads to resilience, high yields, productivity, technology diffusion, and adoption.